After the events at Heisei International Group in Sendai City, everything within the company returned to normal. People resumed their regular lives, and no one worked overtime for extra wages anymore. From that moment, the company became a place where everyone left at the end of the workday, no matter how much the boss tried to offer more pay for overtime.
No matter how much they raised the salaries, employees were unwilling to work late. It was as if hearing the words "overtime" would make them revolt against the boss.
As a result, Heisei International Group's international trade and sales began to plummet. Once a top-tier corporation in its industry, the group quickly dropped out of the top thirty, and its downward trend seemed unstoppable.
But none of this concerned Hayashi anymore. He had fulfilled his duty by exorcising the curse and had avenged his past humiliation, achieving a sense of closure.
Most importantly!
From the special-grade curse Shingo, Hayashi had earned a whopping 140 points—the highest points he had ever received from defeating a curse.
Shingo had a unique way of thinking, and if he weren't a curse, Hayashi might have wanted to bring him back to the human side. Unfortunately, Shingo was a curse responsible for the deaths of many people, something Hayashi could never tolerate.
In Hayashi's view, every life was equal, whether human or curse, and no one had the right to take it away unjustly.
Additionally, Hayashi had obtained special-grade cursed objects from both the Cursed Womb Frozen Sky and Shingo.
These objects were highly coveted in the outside world, sought after by jujutsu sorcerers, curse users, and even curses alike.
Whenever a special-grade cursed object appeared in the world, it triggered a storm of bloodshed.
Theoretically, there shouldn't be too many special-grade cursed objects, given how long it took for them to form. It required ages of accumulation.
Take Sukuna's fingers, for instance. That curse was over a thousand years old, and each finger had become a special-grade cursed object. Just imagine how powerful it was.
In the case of the Cursed Womb Frozen Sky and Shingo, each contained only one special-grade cursed object. Yet even so, they were immensely powerful beings.
If not for Hayashi's intervention, any ordinary jujutsu sorcerer would have faced certain death against them.
For now, Hayashi stored the special-grade cursed objects away. He had no immediate need to break them down. With his current strength, he could protect himself well enough. If he couldn't, then the entire jujutsu world would be in trouble.
He planned to study the cursed objects when he had time. Perhaps they held valuable information, and at the very least, he wanted to figure out whose power these special-grade cursed objects originated from.
After the incident at the Heisei building ended, Hayashi left Sendai City. He had no friends there, and staying longer served no purpose.
Upon returning to the Night Owl organization, plans were set for the trip to China, with the departure scheduled two days later.
Accompanying Hayashi was the first-grade jujutsu sorcerer Zhang Yiyi, who was the strongest member of the branch. It was only natural for her to join him as a recommendation from the division.
However, Hayashi noticed that Zhang Yiyi didn't seem too eager to return to China.
"You don't seem too happy about going back, do you?" Hayashi asked after dinner, noticing Zhang Yiyi reclining on the couch. By now, she had mostly recovered from her previous injuries.
"It's not that she doesn't want to go back. She just doesn't want to see certain annoying people. Honestly, I don't like the atmosphere there much either," Jie Zhiyong chimed in, gulping down a bottle of sugar-free grape soda.
Hayashi was intrigued. "Isn't it the headquarters? I'd imagine there are a lot of powerful jujutsu sorcerers there. Is the competition really that fierce?"
"Oh, definitely. People there have no sense of honor. Back when Yiyi was still at headquarters, they gave her a hard time. It's much better here. Sure, there's not much money, but at least we're comfortable," Jie Zhiyong explained, clearly content with the laid-back lifestyle of their current division.
"No one asked for your opinion, so why don't you stay quiet," Zhang Yiyi shot him a glare. This guy really did talk too much.
"It's okay," Hayashi said, trying to ease the tension. "We'll just go and then come back. You don't like it there? Once we're done, we can leave."
"What's important, Hayashi, is that if anyone at headquarters makes unreasonable demands, don't agree to them. I don't want to see you tied down by the Night Owl organization. And I'm sure Jujutsu High wouldn't approve either," Yamashima warned. Having lived in Japan for so long, he knew the country's strongest force was Satoru Gojo.
The Gojo family, one of the three great sorcerer families!
If the Night Owl organization pushed too far, they'd only be asking for trouble, so Yamashima gave Hayashi a heads-up.
After all, Hayashi had strong backing. He wasn't some inexperienced rookie.
"I understand," Hayashi replied confidently. He wasn't worried at all. His participation in the evaluation was solely for the benefit of the branch and didn't have much to do with him personally.
If there was any connection, it was that the branch would have more funding in the future, and life would be a bit more comfortable. Oh, and he'd learn more about jujutsu.
"I'm heading to bed," Zhang Yiyi announced, getting up and heading to her room. The others glanced at the clock—it was only a little after seven. Going to bed this early?
But no one questioned her. Zhang Yiyi had always done things her own way.
Two days later, Hayashi and Zhang Yiyi packed some light clothes and toiletries before heading to the airport to catch their flight to China.
The headquarters of the Night Owl organization was in Shanghai, which was a pretty good geographical location.
On the plane, Hayashi ordered a plate of pasta and a glass of juice, enjoying his meal with a smile.
Free food shouldn't be wasted, after all. He had never flown before, so the experience was novel and exciting.
In Zhang Yiyi's eyes, Hayashi seemed like someone who had never seen the world. Yet, despite that, he was still so strong. It was baffling.
"You're not eating? It's pretty good!" Hayashi said, finishing his pasta in one go and sipping his juice, feeling quite content. It almost felt like he was on a vacation.
Compared to Megumi and the others training hard at Jujutsu High every day, Hayashi felt like he had it pretty good.
"I'm not hungry," Zhang Yiyi replied casually, closing her eyes to rest.
Hayashi figured her mood was probably the issue. Emotions played a huge role in appetite. When you're in a good mood, even a plain bun can taste great. But when you're feeling down, even the finest food can seem tasteless.
Gazing out the window, Hayashi suddenly had a curious thought. What if he used his Flash Step to leave the plane mid-flight—could he make it back?
Or would he just fall to his death?
The plane was moving fast, so if he used Flash Step, the plane would still be flying forward at a steady speed, leaving him behind.
But if he could Flash Step back within a second, would that work?
Given his current range with cursed energy output, it seemed risky. He could easily end up killing himself.
He wasn't like Satoru Gojo, who could fly.
Still, Hayashi decided to work on strengthening his cursed energy output. By pumping points into it, he could increase the range.
His goal was to expand his cursed energy output to a range of several kilometers. That way, with one Time Flash, he could instantly appear thousands of meters away, moving at the speed of teleportation!